Outline of the Episode
- [1:01] Learn more about Tom Lutz and Vision Planners
- [7:50] Equipping Christians for Kingdom Purpose in Their Work
- [16:55] The three instructions God gives His image bearers
- [23:47] What you do is important to God
Learn more about Tom Lutz and Vision Planners
Tom was raised in a Christian household that read the bible and prayed every day. So as a young man, Tom was comfortable leading Bible studies. Church leaders told him that he was naturally gifted and should be a pastor. So he got a degree in Greek and Latin and got a Master’s of Divinity. But he didn’t feel called to be a pastor. But what else would he do?
He began planting churches in the inner city of Baltimore. Interestingly, he had friends who were starting a business and asked him to come on board. He felt called to ministry in the workplace. The company started growing and he knew that’s where God wanted him to be. 20 years later, they sold the company, which had over 1,800 employees in eight countries.
Tom started thinking about what it meant to be a Christian in the marketplace. Tom believes that churches need to stop discipling people to simply become church members but disciple them to be image bearers and cultivate God’s garden.
Equipping Christians for Kingdom Purpose in Their Work
After selling his business, Tom spent 10–15 years speaking at faith and work events. In 2010, Tom was in a seminar in Atlanta at Reformed Theological Seminary. As he looked around the room, he realized that he’d been in the same room with the same people every couple of months for 10 years.
He said, “Lord, what do we do about that?” He heard a statement in his head, “Until every Sunday, from every pulpit, every sermon is illustrated from and applied to the workplace, they won’t believe it.” That’s when he realized that we have to train the disciplers how to disciple others to become disciples.
So Tom went back to school and earned a doctorate in theology. He spent three years writing a dissertation entitled “Discipling C-Level Christian Executives.” In most doctorate programs, you’re required to do a literature review on your topic. Tom couldn’t find a single dissertation or book about discipling people outside the church. So he partnered with Heidi Unruh to write a book for disciplers.
The three instructions God gives His image bearers
Tom hosts a workshop and class called “Discovering your Kingdom Purpose.” He starts by asking what the kingdom purpose of a business is. When God created the world, each day he created something that he called good. But on the 6th day, he created Adam and Eve in His image. He called them “Very good.” The potential that God has put into this world can be realized in his image bearers. And God gave his image bearers three instructions:
- He wanted them to fill the world by creating abundance.
- He told them the world has infinite potential; cultivate it.
- The world is dangerous and incomplete; subdue it.
The question becomes, where does your business fit in that spectrum? Do you do it to glorify God? Create abundance? Cultivate potential? Each business has a place in the image-bearer calling.
What you do is important to God
We need to learn to help people understand why what they do is important to God. For every one of them, there are 10 people in a church pew who have no clue why—or if—God cares about what they do. We have to challenge them to understand how what they do matters.
The new CEO of a company that created electrical harnesses was struggling with employee morale. So he walked to someone and said “Read the address on this book.” It was going to a hospital department that implanted heart defibrillators. Then he asked, “Do you think what you’re doing is important?”
Someone in one of Tom’s discipleship groups, Mark, worked as a divorce lawyer. Mark felt as if there was no way God would be unhappy with the work he was doing. The majority of the money he earned was from settlements in divorces (typically representing the wronged party). One year into the discipleship group, he came in and Mark could tell he’d been crying.
God had given him a word to define his work: “Defender.” Knowing that being a defender was his kingdom purpose changed his relationship to his work. It changed the way he related to his wife, his children, and everything he does. God has an image to be born and a purpose for us in every opportunity.
Hear the full conversation about being an image bearer and defining your kingdom purpose in this episode of Follower of One.
Resources & People Mentioned
- Follow this link to get a 52% discount on Tom’s book: Equipping Christians for Kingdom Purpose in Their Work: A Guide for All Who Make Disciples
- Convene
Connect with Tom Lutz
Connect With Follower Of One
Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app!
